Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-04-08
STATE PRINTING OFFICE.
Discharge of a Number of Employee
Condition of Stale School Books

Discharge of Number of Employee
Condition of State School Books.
On Saturday of this week fully two
thirds of the force employed at the State
Printing Office, except those at work in
binding the State series of textbooks, will
be discharged. All that will be retained is
just sufficient force to complete the statutes
of the late session and the report of the
State Agriculture! Society This is owing
TO the fact that funds are exhausted. The
late Legislature was lavish in its expendi-
ture of money, but refused to pass def
cheney bill to bridge over the months of
April, May and June. Funds will again be
available on July LIST, when the office will
again be started full-handed. Only two
compositors are at work on the State series
| of textbooks, and those engaged in their
compilation furnish copy so slowly that
| this small force keep up with them with
out difficulty. Quite force are engaged
in the book bindery making cases for the
arithmetics.
THE STATE SCHOOL BOOKS.
Superintendent of State Printing P. L.
! Shoaff has made a calculation of the ap-
| proximate number of each of the State
] series of school-books necessary to supply
| the demands to be made during the year
| beginning July 1, 1887, and ending July 1.
| 1888, and saws it must be based upon the
number of children in the counties whose
contracts expire prior to or during that
| time, and due allowances must be made for
contingencies. While there seems to be no
official knowledge of the counties and cities
whose contracts for readers and spoilers ex-
pire prior to July /, 1887 or during the
thirty-ninth fiscal year, it is known that
the contracts for the readers and spoilers in
the following counties expire on or before
July /, 1887 Colusa, Fresno, Lassen, Mo-
doc, Mono, Napa, Plumas, San Diego, San
Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa
Clara with the exception of the city of San
JOSEF, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sonoma and Tuol-
umne; also the city of Alameda, upon
which no estimate is made, on account of
the lack of statistics. The contracts i'll
three other counties expire also during that
period, but there is no reliable information
as to which counties they are.
The next step in the calculation is to as
certain the basis upon which to determine
the number of books required by the
children of the several counties above
named. By careful examination of the
last report of the Superintendent of Pub
lie Instruction, it will be seen that the
number of census children is the only
reliable basis for calculation, for the fol-
lowing reasons: First, many children,
taught at home, do not attend school
second, many children attend private
schools, which schools will undoubtedly
adopt the State series, on account of its
merit and cheapness. The class of children
thus alluded to are enumerated in the last
report of the Superintendent OF Public
Instruction under the head of number of
census children" and not enumerated
under the head of number of children
enrolled" or the number belonging" or
the number actually attending school.
For these two most potent reasons the
&c number of census children is used as
the basis of calculation in this estimate.
We find in those counties 1865 census
children. Add to this 10000 for probable
increase, and we have 129,615. 1t has been
estimated that &c per cent. are in grammar
grades, and II per cent. in primary grades.
The schools of the State are divided into
eight grades, of which the first, second,
third, fourth and fifth are generally called
the grammar grades; the sixth, seventh
and eighth, the primary grades.
The seventh and eighth grades repre-
senting AZ per cent, use First Readers.
Hence, the number of that book required
to supply the demand during that period
will be 60,919
The sixth, fifth and fourth grades, repre-
senting 81 per cent, will use the Second
Reader. making 44,069 OF that book to
supply the demand.
The third, second and first contain 26
per cent, and use the Third Reader. This
will require 2O,737 Third Readers.
Forty per cent of all the children use
Spoilers, making it necessary to have ST.
SAG of that book on hand.
Twenty-six per cent, use Arithmetics,
which will require the publishing of 49,
$780,
According to the above estimate, the
number of each textbook necessary to
supply the demands during the thirty
ninth fiscal year would be as follows
First readers, go, 919; second readers, A.
069 third readers, 20,737; spoilers, 81 ,846;
arithmetics, 33e99.
No estimate can possibly be made as to
the number of books which will be carried
in stock by dealers, which is permitted by
Senate Bill 426, enacted by the twenty
seventh session of the Legislature and
signed by the Governor. A publishing
house, taking into consideration these facts,
and preparing for emergencies, would at
at least publish $1,000 first readers,
$4,000 second readers, 25.000 third readers,
IS, 900 spoilers, and $1,000 arithmetics, and
have them ready for distribution by July
l. 1887. Forty-fve thousand first readers,
$4,000 second readers, $4,000 third readers
and 10000 spoilers have already been pub
lished. Then. in accordance with the
above estimate, 10000 first readers. 10000
second readers, $4,000 spoilers and $4,000
arithmetics should yet be prepared in
order that the demands for the thirty
fiscal year may be supplied.